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As more states push to legalize marijuana, scientists have started to turn their attention toward the effects of driving after toking up. Stoners will likely rejoice at two recentstudies by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that appears to put them on the safer side of things: According to the first study, drivers with a BAC of 0.08 are 400% more likely to crash their vehicles than a sober person, KUSA-TV reports. However, drivers who test positive for THC—the mind-altering ingredient in pot—are only 25% more likely to crash, which drops to just 5% once age, gender, and other factors are accounted for. "At the current time, specific drug concentration levels cannot be reliably equated with a specific degree of driver impairment," the second study's authors say.

Other drugs besides alcohol, including painkillers and antidepressants, also are linked to much lower crash rates than alcohol, according to the Washington Post. A theory as to why THC may not result in as many crashes as booze: "Psychoactive drugs" are more complicated in how they react with one's body (and reaction can vary quite a bit by individual), and it's not nearly as predictable as alcohol, the studies' authors note, as per the Post; plus, THC may stay in a person's system for weeks, long after any noticeable effects have vanished. Says Colorado state Rep. Dan Pabon: "If you're texting and driving or haven't gotten enough sleep before you get behind the wheel, drinking and driving, smoking and driving—I mean, none of this is good," he tells KUSA. (If you're concerned about being killed by a drunk driver, maybe don't go out walking on Jan. 1.)

news papers stories do not make evidence however Its right decision to uses marijuana / cannabis for every reason these people speak / 1 the study show as to killing brain cells after 6 years of pressing for the evidence the government would not release the monkeys had been suffocated by gas masks when the Government personal infused all of 50+ monkeys with force 40 joints of smoke cannabis 3 times a day for 30 days as the monkeys dies the governments story was they die of brain cell death , when in fact it was due to suffocation . as for the traffic safety 2015 study by NHTSA says there no data to support marijuana crash risk for the last 20 years so again the government Lies to us all revolution is it time ? massvocals study is dated feb 2015 # DOT hs 812 117

BPStorm .

Feb 24, 2015 10:37 AM CST

This is old hat. In 1969 both the Michigan Motor Vehicle Dept. and the Oregon Motor Vehicle Dept. ran experiments to determine the effects of Cannabis on drivers. So they took a group of test subjects and divided them into three groups. Stoned, drunk and straight. What they found out was the drunks were totally out of the ball park as far as control of a car. But, what surprised them was the fact that the Stoners(not people smoking for the first time, but, those with experience) were actually safer drivers than the drunks or the straight drivers. Why? Because they corrected for their impairment and were more attentive to what they were doing. The Straight drivers were more distracted. But, like most positive Cannabis evidence of the time, they through out their findings. In the 1990's Car and Driver Magazine conducted the same experiments again and got the same results. Cannabis users and Cannabis possession is a political crime, the laws and the hysteria around it bear no resemblance to reality. I personally have driven thousands and thousands of miles stoned and have a very clean driving record. And as I said to a narc one time when he was busy busting a friend of mine, "I'd rather be in a car with a driver tripping off of acid any day than with a drunk."

james white

Feb 15, 2015 8:49 AM CST

the name "scientist" gets thrown around a lot now days very loosely. there are more traffic accident with drugs involed than booze, simply because more ppl abuse drugs than booze. lets not forget all the traffic accidents with the 60 yr old stoned women that only took her "nerve medicine"!